Hose valve and coupling for volatile liquids



Nov. 17, 1936. H. N. WADE 2,061,012

HOSE VA LVE AND COUPLING FOR VOLATILE LIQUIDS Filed June 12, 1934 HENRY N. WADE FIG. 4 A TTORNEY Patented Nov. 17, 1936 UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE HOSE VALVE AND COUPLING FOR VOLATILE LIQUIDS Henry N. Wade, Los Angeles, Calif., assignor to Parkhill-Wade,

Incorporated,

Los Angeles,

1 Claim.

The object of my invention is to provide a fitting having couping means and automatic valve means for attachmentto the end of a hose used for filling tanks with butane and other liquids 5 boiling substantially below normal atmospheric temperature.

In the very recent past commercial butane has become an important fuel for heavy automobiles and trucks. Commercial butane contains some 10 propane and boils under one atmosphere absolute pressure at or'below zero Fahrenheit and must therefore be retained and handled at superatmospheric pressure to prevent loss.

In dispensing butane t the tanks of automol tive vehicles it is practically necessary to use a. fiexiblehose, because of the time required to make up pipe connections, and for this purpose a special butane hose is now available. The use of this hose has, however, been rendered .awkward by the lackof a suitable free-end fitting, At the 20 end of a filling operation the hose is full of butane. If a plug cock or other type of valve, together with a union fitting, be placed on the free end of the hose, the assembly is very heavy and clumsy, while if the valve be placed at the fixed 25 end, whatever butane remains in the hose is dischargedwhen the hose is uncoupled from the tank, volatilizing rapidly and reducing the temperature of the hose lining to zero Fahrenheit or below, at which temperature the hose is ren- 30 dered brittle and subject to damage if bent.

To overcome these difilculties I have devised the fitting herein described, which weighs little more than a coupling of equal size and acts automatically to retain all the butane in the hose when the latter is withdrawn from the vehicle tank. This fitting is shown in the attached drawing, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section through the assembled device. as in the act of filling, with the automatic valve open;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the coupling member A of Fig. 1 with parts broken away to show the valve. in closed position;

Fig. 3 is an elevation of the tank nozzle B of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a modified form of tank nozzle including a check valve, and

Fig. 5 is a section through a cap used to seal 50 the tank nozzle after filling the tank.

Referring to the drawing, the device consists of a coupling member A which is permanently attached to the hose and a tank nozzle B which is permarently attached to the tank to be filled. 55 The coupling member, for convenience in renewing flexible packings, is made in three separable parts; a guide plug l2, a valve body l3, and a lock ring l4. These three parts form a unitary fitting which is separated only for the purpose of repacking.

The end of a. flexible hose I0 is provided with a metallic male-end fitting H which is firmly screwed into the guide plug I2, which in turn is tightly screwed into the upper end of the body I 3. A spider or lug 15 supports the upper end of the valve stem l6 which is provided with a metallic disc l1 and a flexible packing disc l8 retained by nuts I9-l9 in the usual manner. A

' spring 20 tends to urge the valve discs downward and into engagement with a seat 2| formed on the upper face of an internal rib 22. The lower end of the valve stem is supported by a spider or lug 23 carried by the body I 3. On backing out the guide plug the valve assembly |6-l'|-l8 I9 '20 may be lifted out of the upper end of the body l3.

The lock ring l4 is firmly screwed onto the lower end of the body, first placing between the internal rib 24 and the faced end 25 a. ring 26 which may be of Duprene or any sufllciently 25 flexible oil resistant material. The lower end of the lock ring is provided with T or L slots 21 which, in cooperation with pin 28 of tank nozzle B form a bayonet catch.

The nozzle B is provided at its lower end with threads 29 which may be firmly screwed into a correspondingly threaded opening in the tank to be filled, it beingthe intention that each tank be provided with its own nozzle permanently retained. The upper end 30 of the nozzle is sized to pass readily through the opening within the rib 24 but the opening through the flexible ring 26 should be of slightly less diameter so that when the nozzle is passed through it, it will be turned upwardly as indicated at 3| and thus form a tight seal around the smooth outer face of the nozzle. It will be evident that the tightness of this joint will be increased by internal pressure within the lower portion of the body.

To connect the hose to the tank to be filled, the coupling member 'A is placed over the'nozzle in such manner that the nozzle end passes through the flexible ring- 26 and the slots 21 pass over the ends of pin, after which a slight turn given to the body locks it in place. The length of the lower end of valve stem I6 is so adjusted to the position of pin 28 that the end of the stem engages the pin after the nozzle end 30 has entered the opening through ring 21 and so that the forcing of the bayonet catch into its locking position will lift the valve disc I8 clear of seat 2 I, as shown in Fig. 1. A leak-tight joint is thus formed between 30 and 28 before the valve opens to permit butane to flow from the hose into the space below the valve.

The form of nozzle shown in Fig. 1 must be used in conjunction with a valve between the nozzle and the tank, but in the form shown in Fig. 4 no valve is required and the nozzle may be screwed directly into the tank. In this form a seat 32 is formed in or near the lower or inward end of the nozzle and a valve 33 carried in a guide 34 and upwardly urged by a light spring 35 prevents loss at butane on withdrawal oi the coupling.

To protect the upper end of the nozzle from damage and also to form a tight seal for the contents of the tank, it is desirable to provide the removable cap shown in Fig. 5. This cap is provided with a plug 36 threaded as at 31 to screw inside the upper end of the nozzle, with a skirt 38 adapted to closely flt the exterior of the nozzle and, with a ring 39 of'flexible packing, and with Wings 40 or other extensions for screwing into place by hand.

I claim as my invention:

A hose-end coupling and valve comprising: a hollow body having a valve seat formed therein; a valve longitudinally movable in said body and adapted to engage said seat; a metallic'ring having slots formed therein and arranged to screw onto said body and a flexible ring retained between said metallic ring and the end of said body; a tank nozzle having a projecting end formed to pass through and deform said flexible ring; a pin passing through and laterally projecting from said nozzle and cooperating with said slots to lock said body to said nozzle; a stem attached to-said valve and arranged to engage said pin and lift said valve from its seat when said body is locked to said nozzle.

HENRY N. WADE. 

